About two years ago, Hyundai decided it was time Verna, its mass market sedan, got a makeover. Its designers wiped out the sharp lines in the earlier boxy avatar and replaced it with a more stylish, fluidic design.

Since then, Verna has doubled its market share and overtaken Honda City as the best selling model in the segment. The design helped Verna touch sales of 48,603 units in April-January 2013, a growth of 19 per cent.

Hyundai's shift is a testimony to the role design plays in pumping up market shares in an intensely competitive car market. Companies are using design as their unique selling proposition in a market where duplication of technology is making product differentiation a huge challenge.

From luxury brand makers to mass market players, every company is using sleek features, attractive interiors, fuel-efficient models, improved vehicle performance and cost efficiency to stand out amid the clutter. And the aspirational consumer, who is looking for more than just utility, is lapping up the latest offers.

Performance, quality and reliability are equally important for long-term satisfaction, he adds. Toyota is attempting to gain this edge in some of its newer models. It is working to make the Liva and Etios - whose sales fell by almost 23 per cent to 31,116 units in April-January 2013 — more visually attractive.

Companies the world over are hiring top-notch designers to give design a push. Renault poached designer Laurens van den Acker from Mazda, who transformed the boxy Renault into a softer, more voluptuous car.

Citroen's appointment of Jean Pierre Ploue transformed an almost dead brand into the design leader in Europe. Ploue is understood to be duplicating this at Peugeot. Another company that is transforming its boxy middle-of-the-road designs is GM Europe, with Martin Smith altering the design of its Opel and Vauxhall brands.

The more beautiful the car, the greater its chances of scorching the ramp — in this case, the market. "Design can make or break a car," says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. "There is more emotional connect with cars than before," he says.

Hyundai's 'fluidic sculpture', for instance, lowers the coefficient drag (CD), which makes the car glide through the air, reducing fuel consumption. The Sonata, designed this way, has a CD of 0.25, among the lowest in the world.

Car companies work with the global market in mind, with the aim of cutting costs. Thus, the same Hyundai design is sold all over the world — the company is able to spread the cost of design across higher volumes, explains Shanghai Automotive's Jain. Customisation has also begun to play a very important role in car design. Currently the domain of premium car companies like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, choices will soon extend to mass market cars, enabling an increase in profitability with every additional feature.

The Fiat 500, for instance, is sold globally in 25 "special editions", including the Abarth, Ferrari, Barbie and Gucci. Behind all these attempts is a grand design - win over consumers at first sight.